Fleet Licence Check News Blog

'Driverless' driving through the deployment of automated cars is all but a foregone conclusion in the minds of many. Whether or not it actually comes to
fruition is a matter of debate. But assuming it does, both driving licences and electronic licence checks are going to be drastically different. The
era of automation will usher in a whole new way of earning, issuing, and maintaining driving licences. Read More

If you own a business that require some of your employees to drive as part of their work, you might want to pay attention to a new graduated driving licence
(GDL) programme being implemented in Northern Ireland. Great Britain has already said it will be studying the results of the pilot to see if doing
the same thing in England and Wales would be practical. Read More

The routine electronic driver licence check in 2018 may reveal fewer problems by way of penalty points and fines. Why? Because drivers appear to be doing
a better job of avoiding them, based on recent data from the DVLA. The data shows a 27% decrease in the number of penalty points issued in 2017 as
compared to the previous year. Read More

If a proposed government plan to change how driving licences are issued comes to fruition, real-time licence checks will be more important than ever for
companies with drivers on the payroll. The proposed plans call for restrictions that could keep younger drivers off the roads and limit the vehicles
they drive.

Numerous news outlets report that the government is considering a graduated driving licence plan aimed at preventing crash fatalities among younger
drivers. The proposed plan affects drivers between the ages of 17 and 24, for up to two years after they get their driving licences.

The plan calls for a number of proposals, including the following:

Driving at Night – Younger drivers would be prohibited from driving at night unsupervised, similar to laws already in place in Australia
and New Zealand.

Restricted Engine Sizes – Affected drivers would be limited to cars with smaller engines. This proposal is aimed at cracking down
on 'boy racers'.

Probationary Period – Younger drivers would be subject to a two-year probationary period, during which time they would have to prove
their worthiness to get a full licence.

Second Test – Should the probationary period proposal be enacted, younger drivers would be required to take a second test at the completion
of probation to get a full licence.

The government says that drivers between 17 and 24 are involved in a quarter of all crashes resulting in serious injuries and deaths. They say that
the graduated driving licence proposal is intended only to reduce those numbers. Government representatives insist that they are not trying to
punish younger drivers.

Checking up on Your Drivers

Hopefully you understand how a graduated driving licence would affect your business. If you have drivers younger than 24 on the payroll now, we would
expect them to be unaffected. They already have their licences. But moving forward, restrictions would likely prevent you from aggressively recruiting
new drivers who are not at least 25 years old.

Real-time licence checks would help you identify younger drivers should they attempt to pass themselves off as being older. The last thing you want
to do is employ a driver who is still on his or her probationary period.

Changes may be coming to the UK driving licence. Make sure your company is using real-time licence checks before any such changes go into effect.

A Turkish national attempting to get a UK driving licence in order to improve his chances of finding better employment was caught by DVSA testers attempting
to cheat on his theory test. The man, who was discovered cheating on his second test after failing his first, could be just the tip of the iceberg.
There could be a more widespread problem of fraud emanating from London's Turkish community.

According to numerous reports, 23-year-old Isa Yazgi was observed last year taking and failing the theory test in Chatham. Observers at the first test
location had already flagged him as a fraud risk when he entered a second testing centre in Hanley a month later.

Upon arrival at the Hanley Centre, Yazgi was asked whether he was carrying a mobile device. After responding 'no' he was allowed in to take the theory
test, though testers were watching him. Shortly after he sat down, Yazgi was observed removing something from his waistband and sticking it in
his ear prior to putting on his headphones. A tester promptly came over to investigate and found a small Bluetooth device Yazgi could have used
to cheat.

A Potentially Huge Problem

When questioned by authorities, Yazgi said he planned for the Bluetooth device to help him get the answers from someone outside the testing centre.
He said he paid £1000 to an unidentified person within the London Turkish community for the help. This has authorities concerned about a potentially
bigger problem afoot.

It is possible that the same fraudster who assisted Yazgi has helped thousands of other Turkish nationals get driving licences without any knowledge
of UK highway code. To think how many cheats could be on the roads is scary.

The electronic licence checks we offer cannot do anything to stop this kind of fraud. However, they are very useful in keeping track of the drivers
on your payroll. If you have a driver who obtained a licence in the past through fraud, that same driver may have no compunction about continuing
to drive without letting you know of changes to his or her licence. Your organisation can't afford that.

The unfortunate reality is that not everyone driving on UK roads belongs there. We recommend regular electronic licence checks to ensure that your
drivers are not among them. There is no room for unsafe drivers or fraudsters on our roads.

If it seems like there are fewer young people on the roads these days, it is not just your imagination. Researched data from a report commissioned by the
Department for Transport says the number of young people between the ages of 17 and 29 with driving licences has fallen some 19% over the last 20 years.
Read More

We obviously advocate for real-time licence checks among all employers who have drivers on the payroll. Whether you are talking fleet drivers or those
whose professional driving is more casual in nature, regular licence checks keep employers abreast of an individual's ability to drive legally on our
roads. Unfortunately, licence checks are not very helpful when trying to understand driver health. Read More

Now that we've officially turned the page on 2018, we thought it might be helpful to remind our readers about some of the lesser-known offences that could
get drivers in trouble. Said offences are all listed as 'careless driving' under the law. Being found guilty of any of them could lead to penalty points
and fines.

As a company that promotes electronic licence checks among employers with drivers on the payroll, we understand just how important it is for those
who drive for a living to avoid violating the law. Just one misdemeanour could put a driver's job in jeopardy as well as exposing his or her employer
to liability.

With that in mind, here are some of the more common careless driving offences:

Hogging the Middle Lane

Believe it or not, maintaining a position in the middle lane on a motorway and thereby forcing faster traffic around you is considered an offence.
Slower traffic should always keep to the far-left lane; the middle lane is reserved for overtaking. Part 264 of the Highway Code says so:

"You should always drive in the left-hand lane when the road ahead is clear. If you are overtaking a number of slower-moving vehicles, you should return to the left-hand lane as soon as you are safely past."

Tailgating

Tailgating is an offence for obvious reasons. Driving too closely to the driver in front of you is dangerous. Safety demands that you leave at least
one or two car lengths between you and the car ahead, more distance if the weather is bad.

Driving Too Slowly

Although there is no minimum speed in the UK – except in areas that are clearly marked as such – driving too slowly is also an offence. If you are
driving slowly enough to cause others around you to have to slow down significantly, you are creating a safety issue. The same is true for unnecessary
braking.

There are many other offences that fall under the careless driving category not listed here. Know this: thousands of drivers every year receive fines
and penalty points as a result of being found guilty of one of them. Protect yourself by being a better driver in 2018. If you are an employer
with drivers on the payroll, protect your company by committing to regular electronic licence checks for the coming year.

Winter has arrived with colder temperatures and the season's first snow. That's not necessarily a bad thing, unless the winter weather results in you being
fined and given penalty points for not clearing snow from your car. Yes indeed, the winter months offer yet more opportunities to gain driver licence
points. Read More

It is not necessarily a given that earning one's driving licence will mean uninterrupted driving for a lifetime. In fact, a new study conducted by ALA
reveals that thousands of new drivers in the UK lose their licences within a year of obtaining them. The study's results offer yet another reason for
employers to take advantage of regular licence checks on all employees who drive for work. Read More

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